


A Stupid Planet to Die On

by CharlesLamont



Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Shaky Hands, Whomptober 2019 prompt No.1, whumptober2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 08:43:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20889320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharlesLamont/pseuds/CharlesLamont
Summary: A duel for somebody’s honor goes terribly wrong.





	A Stupid Planet to Die On

**Author's Note:**

> For Whumptober 2019, prompt number one - Shaky Hands
> 
> Beta read by Flamemoon18
> 
> Like a lot of my short fiction, I seem to write it easiest on my phone and late at night...

“Huh.” It was a sound of dull surprise, tinted with the beginning of pain and excruciating realization. The world was silent except for the clattering of metal on the ground. 

On the sidelines, among the crowd that he was forced to stand with, Luke Skywalker let out a cry, but the scream was stuck in his throat. Before him, standing in the middle of the dueling arena, Han Solo was swaying, a vibroblade pierced through his abdomen and out his back. The world seemed to slow (or was that just the Force?) and Luke leapt over the barricade, his hand reaching out and a wave of energy tossed the aristocrat that impaled his best friend. 

Han’s swaying ended, and the man slowly fell to his knees, looking at the blade in his gut. Luke reached him before he fully collapsed, and gently lowered him the rest of the way. 

“Well kid,” Han smiled weakly up at him, a faint glaze in his eyes and a trickle of blood on his lips. “Guess I’m not as good at dueling as I thought. Shows me to defend somebody’s honor.”

“No.” Luke softly muttered the word over and over, his hands shaking, moving over his friend’s body. He could feel Han through the Force, but he could feel him starting to drift away. 

“A stupid planet to die on, huh?” Han’s roguish smile never stopped.

Tears streaming down his face, Luke reached further into the Force, trying to follow Han. He remembered his teaching from Yoda, healing scrapes and bruises he got while training. The basics of mending broken flesh. He grasped what little bit of Han’s energy he could find, and his hands slowly worked over the wound, his own energy pouring out onto his friend. 

Luke knew he was in the wrong mindset, peace, serenity, those were what Yoda and Ben taught him, but it was love that redeemed his father, and love that would save his friend. The young Jedi pushed more of the Force into the wound, willing it closed as he slowly drew the blade out, fixing the torn flesh. Half focused on repairing the body, his main concern was holding onto the rest of Han. Luke grasped tightly onto his friend’s energy with his own, trying to keep Han from slipping into death.

But just past the edge, another presence started to press, clawing its way through the dark places of the Force.

Imagine. A familiar voice slipped into his mind, soft but menacing. You could do this with everybody. Hold onto them, prevent their deaths. I can help, teach you things the Jedi would never have dared learned. Just let me back in, and join me.

“No.”

The blade fully emerged and the flesh mended. A shockwave emanated from the body, knocking Luke back. He was still for a moment, his eyes wide as he gazed at his friend’s body. 

The crowd around them murmured, most had never seen a Jedi before, only the older among them had lived in the time before the Empire. 

Han shuddered and gasped. His eyes opened wide and he turned, coughing up blood onto the ground before sitting up and staring at Luke, shock in his eyes. 

“I’m not letting you go that easily.” Luke stood, a warm smile on his face, and he helped his friend to his feet. “Let’s just not tell Leia or Chewie about this.”

“Deal.” Han smiled weakly, but Luke could still see the surprise and awe, and a bit of fear at what the Jedi had done.

And as they walked back to the Millennium Falcon, Luke could have sworn he felt a dark presence follow.


End file.
